AP National News

By SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — The bodies of four migrants killed in a Dec. 9 truck crash in southern Mexico have been returned to their homeland, Guatemala. The bodies arrived Saturday on a flight from Mexico and were taken in hearses to their hometowns for burial. Three of the victims

A grandmother says two babies have survived a Kentucky tornado last weekend that ripped the bathtub they were in out of the ground, tossing it with them inside. Clara Lutz told WFIE-TV she put 15-month-old Kaden and 3-month-old Dallas in the bathtub last Friday with a blanket, a pillow and a Bible. She says the

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Never underestimate your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, even with a mutating virus afoot. Despite rising concerns over the omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” not only shattered pandemic-era box office records; it became the third best opening of all time behind “Avengers: Endgame” and “Avengers: Infinity War.” Studio estimates on

MOSCOW (AP) — About 140 miners are being evacuated from a coal mine in the Russian region of Siberia amid reports of a fire in one of the mine’s sections. The evacuations Sunday come weeks after a devastating blast in another coal mine in the same region killed 51 people. Emergency officials told Russia’s Interfax

By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A recent Wyoming school board meeting was yet again packed with opponents of mask mandates when things took an abrupt turn and a parent started reading out sexually explicit passages from a book available in school libraries. Conservatives across the U.S. have taken a renewed interest

BRUSSELS (AP) — Thousands of peaceful protesters have demonstrated in Brussels for a third time against reinforced COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter a spike in infections as the omicron variant sweeps across Europe. A strong police presence was deployed on streets in anticipation of the crowds but only 13 arrests were

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 12,000 military service members refusing the COVID-19 vaccine are seeking religious exemptions, and so far they’re having zero success. Not a single request has been granted. The services are urgently trying to keep the pandemic in check by getting virtually all troops vaccinated. And

By JEFF AMY and RUSS BYNUM Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Former Georgia Republican U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson has died. He was 76. His son John Isakson says the former senator died in his sleep before dawn Sunday at his home in Atlanta. Isakson rose from the ranks of the state legislature to become a

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates says that it will no longer censor films released in cinemas, the country’s latest effort to boost its brand as a liberal hub attractive to foreigners. Instead of cutting sensitive scenes that could offend traditional Islamic sensibilities, the Emirati media regulatory authority announced it will

By GRANT SCHULTE Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska has held one of the nation’s lowest unemployment rates for years, with fewer than two million people and plenty of jobs to go around. That rate has hit new lows thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, with the state announcing the lowest-ever recorded unemployment of 1.8%

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The rapidly-spreading omicron variant may soon leave U.S. doctors without two of the standard treatments they’ve used to fight COVID-19. Antibody drugs from Regeneron and Eli Lilly have been the go-to drugs to keep patients out of the hospital. But the drugmakers have warned that their

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Richard Rogers, the lauded British architect who was one of the forces behind the Pompidou Center in Paris and later designed London’s Millennium Dome, has died. He was 88. Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, the company he founded, confirmed his death Sunday. It described him as “a

MOORHEAD, Minn. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the deaths of several people whose bodies were discovered inside a twin home in a northwestern Minnesota city. The bodies were discovered in the Moorhead residence just before 8 p.m. Saturday by family members conducting a welfare check. Those family members called police. Moorhead police have not said

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — The White House’s top medical adviser says the COVID-19 omicron variant is “just raging around the world.” And President Joe Biden is planning on Tuesday to give what his press secretary says is “a stark warning of what the winter will look like” for unvaccinated Americans.

By HOPE YEN and ALAN FRAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he can’t back a $2 trillion social safety net bill, and his opposition seemingly deals a fatal blow to President Joe Biden’s signature legislation. Manchin tells “Fox News Sunday” that he’s always made clear he had reservations about the

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer In-person attendance at houses of worship across the U.S. has slowly risen from dramatically low levels when the pandemic surged in the spring of 2020. But in many cases, attendance is still not back to pre-pandemic levels — and in some cases, it’s less than half. For example, the

By LUJAIN JO Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Lebanon, on a high-profile visit he said will focus on supporting the people of the crisis-stricken country. Guterres is expected to press for reforms from the country’s political leaders, who have been deeply divided over key issues leading to

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s health secretary has refused to rule out imposing tougher COVID-19 restrictions before Christmas amid the rapid rise of infections and continuing uncertainty about the omicron variant. Sajid Javid said Sunday that the government was assessing the fast-moving situation and urged the public to be cautious as

BRUSSELS (AP) — Thousands of peaceful protesters have demonstrated in central Brussels for a third time against reinforced COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter a spike in infections and the emergence of the worrying omicron variant. A strong police presence was deployed on streets in anticipation of the crowds, given how previous

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A newspaper is reporting that a rapper was stabbed at a Los Angeles music festival, prompting organizers to end the festival early. The Los Angeles Times says Drakeo the Ruler was assaulted at the Once Upon a Time in LA concert Saturday night. The paper cited a person with direct knowledge